A look at how the new starters have fared compared with the former ones:
▪ Start with the tackle positions. Last season, Bryant McKinnie (10 starts for the Dolphins) allowed seven sacks, Tyson Clabo (15 starts) yielded 11 and Jonathan Martin (seven starts) relinquished seven. That’s 25 sacks permitted by the team’s top three tackles.
So far, left tackle Branden Albert and rookie right tackle Ja’Wuan James have relinquished only one sack apiece in 587 combined snaps. No wonder Pro Football Focus ranks Albert second and James 20th among 67 tackles.
By comparison, Martin — now with the San Francisco 49ers — allowed three sacks in 257 snaps entering Sunday. Clabo, incidentally, is a backup for the Texans and McKinnie is out of the league.
What’s more ...
